"Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore", by Robin Sloan

What a cool cover! Also I think it glows in the dark?

Listed as science-fiction, "Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" reads almost like magical realism-- the best of which makes you feel as though you could turn a corner in any city in the world and stumble into something you could never have imagined. This book is like that-- set in an ambiguously close future, so familiar it's easy to believe whole-heartedly. The main character is an out-of-work nerdy art-school graduate whose only real skills are basic coding and typography, and in classic adventure-novel style (the book is, at least partially, a tribute to absurd fantasy novels we all read in our youth), becomes not only the main character but the hero. Being a (soon-to-be) out-of-work art-school graduate myself, I feel personally validated by seeing a hero whose life is so close to mine, in a future so close to reality.

As books about books often are, "Mr. Penumbra" is a love-letter to the written and printed word, but unlike others of its kind, it embraces technology as a method of preserving and furthering literature. Technology is, in fact, what the mystery ends up hinging upon-- not only modern technology, but technology which has been around for so long, which is so fundamental, that we barely see it at all anymore.

For all of the things it has to say about technology and literature, "Mr. Penumbra" is, at heart, an adventure story for those of us who love adventure stories. It's about the reader becoming the hero, it's about mystery and quests in the real world. It's written for a generation of nerds who grew up reading adventure stories, longing for quests of their very own: it's wish-fulfillment, and it's very fulfilling.

I recommend it whole-heartedly.

Grade: A (very, very good)

Buy: Off of Amazon.

"Big Easy Express"

Image from mxdwn.com.

I stumbled across this film because it was listed in NPR's "2012 In Review: 50 Wonderful Things From The Year In Pop Culture" article. I don't watch a lot of documentaries, but I like live music, and it was cheap to rent on Amazon, so I watched it!

The premise (subject?) is that three super cool bands (listed above) toured together, traveling by train and playing at all the stops on the way. The movie is mostly just beautiful shots of them playing and singing, both on the train and at the concerts, cut with occasional clips of the band members talking. Over-all, I enjoyed it-- it had some gorgeous cinematography and the sound quality was excellent, and obviously all of the bands are really great. (I am personally very fond of Old Crow Medicine Show!)

But what it made me most think about, and what I want to talk about, is the "artificial" creation of an experience.

Dan Is Not On Fire (A Youtube Person)

This is the actual first thing that came up when I Google Image

searched "Dan Is Not On Fire".

I don't watch Youtube videos: that is a statement that would have been true yesterday. Except now, it would be a lie, because today I watched literally four or five hours of Dan Howell's videos.

Gold Spray-Paint

It's actually magic in a can.

I have a bit of a headache right now-- probably from spray-painting in an unventilated area, which I'm pretty sure you're expressly told Not To Do.

But goddamn it, I don't care: this is worth it. Gold spray-paint is worth it.

CBS's "Elementary"

This is a very well composed poster,

I'd never noticed before.

Right, so, when it was first announced I was Very Skeptical about Elementary. While I was super into a female Watson, it just seemed like such blatant train-hopping I figured they couldn't possibly get a good show together in time to ride the Sherlock Holmes wave. Even after the first episode, I was iffy: it seemed to hit most of the same tropes as the BBC's Sherlock, and I was concerned that they were going to go through the same cases. Also, Johnny Lee Miller was a scruffy hot white guy who I'd never seen act, and so I thought he would probably be boring.

I was wrong, anyone who was worried about this was wrong, it is excellent. I'M PUBLICLY REPENTING FOR MY SINS. Miller plays a Holmes whose emotions and addictive personality are two of his most important traits, Lucy Liu knocks an entirely new take on John Watson out of the park-- hopefully leading to more gender-swapping in reboots. Ironically, the world's Most Homoerotic Detective Duo has translated amazingly well into a platonic male/female friendship, and even more ironically, I'm desperate for it to stay that way: their friendship is adorable and awkwardly genuine, and unfolding compellingly. And, Sherlock Holmes aside: as a crime show, the cases are compelling and fun to watch.

They photoshopped out her freckles!! Why would anyone

photoshop out her freckles????

Besides, Lucy Liu might well be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Grade: A (fun, a good adaptation, stars Lucy Liu's freckles)

Buy: Off of Amazon.

Watch: CBS, Thursdays at 10pm.

One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful"

Are they in the back of a van? Are any of them old enough to drive a van?

Is their mom in the front of the van??

I know One Direction has been a thing for a while, but until today I had somehow never actually heard any of their songs, probably because I spend very little time listening to the radio when I'm not in a car, and I don't usually have a car.

But today I did, and so I was treated to hearing, for the first time, "What Makes You Beautiful".

Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

Picture from the Maldon website, because the other option was a shoddy iPhone photo.

Okay, the first thing you have to know about me to understand this review is: I Love Unnecessary Kitchen Things. I love them. I can't help it-- cooking is a hobby of mine, and it seems like I am constantly stumbling across more things I absolutely need for my kitchen. Considering that my kitchen has maybe 6 feet of counter space, this is a problem-in-progress.

An 8.5oz box of Maldon Sea Salt is like, four inches tall. It can fit in my horrible, shallow disco-cabinet. Also, it promises to Change The Way You Look At Salt Forever (or... something). How could I resist?